Robot DESIGN

Our coach always says, 'Change a little at a time, not all at once.' That's how we do things. We began with our Award-Winning MARC III 23.4 and made small changes to improve it. We keep checking how well it works and make small fixes to our robot's design and code.

MARC III 24.2

Our robot’s drive base (MARC III 24.1) acted weirdly during the regional competition. It kept moving everywhere, and we had difficulty keeping it straight. The gyro calibration failed once, and our robot spun in circles, causing us to lose an entire run. 😢

Earlier in the season, we had tested smaller and broader 62.4 x 20mm wheels, and while they were bulky, they were way more stable. So, we decided to return to that design and switch to slip wheels instead of caster wheels. We also boxed in the chassis to make it stronger and support the wheels from both sides. This helped lower the center of gravity and stabilize the drive base!

Our new drive base, MARC III 24.2, is redesigned! Here are the key differences: Smaller Drive Wheel Size, Slip Wheels vs. Caster Wheels, Stronger Chassis with Better Support for wheels, Lower Center of Gravity, and Directional Arrows (We brought back this feature from MARC III 23.4 to help with alignment).

We’re super excited about how much better MARC III 24.2 is, and we can’t wait to test it out in the next competition! 🎉

SPECIFICATIONS

Weight: 843g
Dimensions: 192.5mm x 166mm x 108mm
Wheels Size: 64.2mm x 20mm
Axle Track: 120mm
Drive Base Type: Compact drive base for better navigation
Attachments: 3 Custom arms and two jigs for specific missions
Programs: 7 programs solving 12 missions
Max Points Achievable: 370
Average Points Scored: ~ 300

ARMS UPDATE FOR MARC III 24.2

Another area we identified for improvement was the arm design. At regionals, we had over ten different arm designs to complete all the missions, which took a lot of time to swap out and realign the robot. We’ve simplified things by combining multiple functions into just three-arm designs. One of these arms stays fixed to the robot base, so we don’t need to change it. To make mission launches even easier, we’re also using two launch jigs to help with alignment.

MARC III 24.1

ARMS

The arms on MARC III 24.1 are super important for helping our robot complete missions. We made 11 different attachments, each designed to do a specific job. This year, we fixed problems from last year by making the arm slots easier to swap out so we can change them quickly during a match. One of our coolest upgrades is the back arm with a knob gear that gives it more power for tougher missions. The arms are strong but not too heavy, so the robot stays easy to move. These arms, along with our jigs, help our robot do missions faster and better!

SOFTWARE

The programming for MARC III 24.1 makes our robot consistent. We started using Python, but it was tricky for some of us, so we switched to LEGO Word Blocks, which is easier and works great. We made custom function blocks for things like moving, turning with the gyro sensor, and controlling the arms so we can reuse them in different programs. This saves us time and keeps everything organized. We wrote eight programs to solve 12 missions, and they worked together to help the robot score points quickly and accurately. It’s fantastic to see our code come to life on the field!

RESOURCES

MARC III 24.2 Specs

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